Dubai driver tries to run over policeman

Dubai: An Emirati driver has gone on trial in Dubai, being accused of endangering the lives of two policemen who tried to seize his vehicle over engine modifications.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Wednesday from a 24-year-old Emirati policeman that on November 2019, he was patrolling on Jumeirah Road after midnight with his colleague, when he saw a four-wheel-drive vehicle that was creating loud noises.

He turned on the siren and stopped the vehicle, asking the Emirati defendant to present his driving licence and registration. “I told him that he committed a traffic offence by causing noises, modifying the car’s engine and heavy tinting. He admitted that he had no permission to modify the engine. I told him that we will seize his vehicle,” the Emirati policeman stated.

The policeman asked the 23-year-old defendant to turn off the engine and went to the front of the car to check the plate number. The defendant then moved the vehicle and tried to run the policeman over. “I was so close that I was almost run over by the defendant but I moved quickly. The vehicle hit my left hand. The defendant escaped.”

Chase

The two policemen then chased the defendant until they reached Al Wasl road. “We drove side by side and I asked him to pull over, but he swerved suddenly on us and hit the patrol vehicle,” the policeman added. The two policemen monitored the defendant from a distance until he reached his home and they called for backup to arrest the defendant.

During interrogation, the defendant admitted of swerving to the police patrol and crashing into it, causing damages. Dubai Public Prosecution charged the defendant with physically assaulting the policeman, endangering the lives of the two policeman and damaging public properties [the police patrol]. Damages have been estimated to be Dh4,574.

The next hearing will be on August 12.